Investing
‘I Can Get Real Gains’: Meme Traders Risk It All to Beat S&P 500
Retail investors once again bought up shares of shorted companies in an episode that harkened back the 2021 GameStop craze.
A Kohl's Corp. department store in Lexington, Kentucky.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergA self-described “conservative" investor bet $20,000 on Opendoor Technologies Inc. A 20-year-old student threw $2,000 down on Kohl’s Corp. options. Another retail trader picked his targets on advice from ChatGPT.
Meme-stock froth returned to markets this week, as retail investors piled into the heavily shorted stocks of struggling companies. Even with the S&P 500 setting fresh records, many couldn’t resist chasing profits in the volatile swings that come when the day-trading crowd on social media identifies a new squeeze.